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                    "Eboney Clark Yates poses with her daughter Riley at the Special Needs Prom held in October at The Gathering in Starkville. Eboney began organizing the prom in 2023 for special needs children. Courtesy photo\t\n\t\t\tRiley Yates and her twin brother, Robert Antoine Yates Jr., were born three months premature. Robert died soon after birth. Riley was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and spent her first year in the hospital.\nAt age 5, Riley suffered a series of strokes and was diagnosed with hydrocephalus \u2013 a condition where excess fluid builds up within the brain, increasing pressure inside the skull. The condition left her using a wheelchair.\n\u201cMy life changed that day,\u201d said her mother, Eboney Clark Yates, of Starkville. \u201cI can\u2019t even remember what life was like before.\n\u201cWhen you have a special needs child, you begin to think how different their lives will be,\u201d she continued. \u201cI remember talking to my best friend about it, how Riley wouldn\u2019t have proms or dances and so many other experiences that are a part of growing up. It breaks your heart. There\u2019s nothing for them. My friend said, \u2018Well, why don\u2019t you do something yourself?\u2019\u201d\nSo she did.\nIn 2023, Yates planned and hosted the inaugural Special Needs Prom.\n\u201cI organized the whole thing in six weeks,\u201d Yates said. \u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t know how I did it.\u201d\nCommunity support and growth\nThe first three proms were held in October at The Gathering on Fire Station Road, but the event will officially switch to March in 2027. From the beginning, the prom clearly fulfilled a critical need for local children and their families.\n\u201cCounting the kids and parents, we had 150 people that first year. It was 200 the next year and 300 last year,\u201d Yates said. \u201cThe community has been very supportive. One group provides escorts. We\u2019ve had donations for the red carpet and T-shirts. A local dentist provided a free dental clinic, and Glo has donated, too.\u201d\nYates noted it is sometimes difficult to tell who enjoys the event more \u2013 the children or their parents.\n\u201cYou can tell the kids love it,\u201d Yates said. \u201cWe go all out to make it special for them, with decorations, prom kings and queens and all the elements of a traditional prom. It\u2019s also deeply meaningful for the families. We had one grandmother travel from Pennsylvania who cried through the whole event. She told us it was the best thing she had ever seen.\u201d\nAbove all, the prom offers a safe space where families feel completely at ease.\n\u201cSo many times, when you\u2019re out somewhere with your child, you notice people\u2019s stares or negative reactions,\u201d Yates said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to worry about that here. It\u2019s a no-judgment event. If an autistic child screams for 30 straight minutes, nobody cares. We all get it. That is part of parenting a special needs child.\u201d\nA journey of healing and faith\nRiley is 13 years old. Eboney and her husband, Robert Sr., also have two younger children: Nicholas, 5, and Olivia, 4.\nDeciding to expand their family was not an easy choice after everything Riley endured.\n\u201cWe struggled with whether or not to have more children because of all Riley went through and how hard it was,\u201d Yates said. \u201cWe have never for one moment considered Riley anything other than a blessing, but as a parent, you worry about the future.\u201d\nAfter many heartfelt conversations, the couple decided to try again.\n\u201cRiley\u2019s twin brother passed away not long after they were born on March 24 at 5:55 p.m.,\u201d Yates shared. \u201cYears later, Nicholas was born at 5:55 p.m. on March 24 \u2013 eight years to the exact moment that Robert Jr. passed away. That was God\u2019s way of telling me everything was going to be OK. In Nicholas, we were given back the son we had lost. I think every special needs family has those \u2018God moments\u2019 that are a part of the journey.\u201d\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tSlim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email\u00a0protected].\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n      \n      \n        Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community."
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